Coin Toss Options

[Bob M.]

REPLY: I don't look at it as a captain having four choices. It's actually a two-tiered set of options:
FIRST DECISION

• Choice in the first half, or
• Defer and take choice in the second half.

SECOND DECISION

• Kick
• Receive
• Defend a Goal

So I approach it that way: "Captain, you've won the toss. Would you prefer to make your choice this half or defer and wait till the second half?" Only after that decision is made, will I even begin to mention the three options that need to be considered.

Same way as Ref In So CA recommended.

[Jim D]

We had it in a game Friday night. The home team won the toss and chose to defer. At the beginning of the second half, the captain said they would kick. After the WH asked him if he really wanted to kick the ball away and give it to the other team he figured that what he really wanted to do was to receive. Who knows what the kid was thinking.

[RonRef]

Originally Posted by Jim D

We had it in a game Friday night. The home team won the toss and chose to defer. At the beginning of the second half, the captain said they would kick. After the WH asked him if he really wanted to kick the ball away and give it to the other team he figured that what he really wanted to do was to receive. Who knows what the kid was thinking.

I know...he really wanted to receive! Why else would they defer, we sometimes are really reading way too much into these scenarios!

[lucky1313]

We had a game a couple of years ago and the captian said "We want to kick the ball." So I asked him again and he said "we want to kick the ball." So I asked the other captians if they were sure of his choice and another captian said "we want to defer to the second half." I said great choice, and the first captian broke in and said " Gdit, we want to kick the ball." So they got to kick off both halfs that night. I felt we tried to help but we couldn't make the choice for the team.

[JugglingReferee]

Originally Posted by Bob M.

REPLY: I don't look at it as a captain having four choices. It's actually a two-tiered set of options:

This is the Canadian method. It's been in our book for a long time. It prevents many hiccups.

[RoyGardner]

As I posted earlier, I agree 100%. The option process should be handled as 2 parts:

1. Use option now or defer?

2. Then depending on 1. offer the 2nd option.

In any case, based on original scenario, I would have taken the response to mean: We will defer our option to the 2nd half, when opponent elects to take ball this half, we want to defend X goal."

[JasonTX]

I had a 7th grade game and you'd know that while standing on the sideline the coach is going over the options with his captain. He tells him if they win the toss that they want to kick. I explained to them that if they kicked then they'd most likely be kicking the 2nd half as well since the other team would get the 2nd half choices. I told them if they truly wanted to kick then the best option would be to defer. So, they won the toss and elected to defer. Sometimes even the coaches need a little help.